iPOD, THEREFORE I CAN’T CONCENTRATE AT WORK
Bad news for Dylan Jones, editor of GQ and now writer of the
much-publicised work iPod, Therefore I Am, the story of one man’s
personal journey through music. The sad warning reaches the kennel, via
press interviews with psychiatrist Dr Victor Aziz, that too much use of
the iPod can result in auditory hallucinations in which a song becomes
“stuck in the head”, even leading to problems sleeping and
concentrating at work. That 175-song “definitive Beatles album”
tracklist doesn’t seem like quite such a good idea now, does it, Mr
Jones?
Meanwhile, Maxim’s attempts to ridicule its publishing rival
continue with one reader getting a spoof birthday greeting to Jones
published in his local paper. Regional hacks should probably be on the
lookout for fake Robbie Williams obits, which are next on the list of
tasks Maxim has set its readers.
One
might have thought obits and articles to run on the death of Edward
Heath would have been written and checked thoroughly many months in
advance.
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After all, the old boy was 89. Not so at The Guardian.
Political
editor Michael White wrote that Heath “called a general election in
February 1974 to establish ‘who governs Britain’ when the National
Union of Mineworkers, led by Arthur Scargill, was engaged in a strike
that appeared to threaten the elected government”. Scargill? NUM
leader in 1974? Sorry, but Heath was taken on by Joe Gormley, who was
NUM president in 1974 and remained so until 1982, when he was succeeded
by Scargill. Perhaps it was all too long ago for The Guardian.
Power list will irk ‘grumpy regionalists’
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Good news for Manchester Evening News editor Paul Horrocks, ranked
37 in North West Insider magazine’s list of the 100 most powerful
people in the region.
Horrocks, praised for launching “a new ‘lite’ edition that looks
better than the main paper”, had the satisfaction of beating Sir Alex
Ferguson, who trailed him in 44th place.
But how did the rest of the media in the north-west fare?
Well,
Martin Brooks, controller of BBC North West, came in at 99th. No one
from ITV made the Power 100 list. The editor of the Liverpool Daily
Post didn’t figure because she was on maternity leave and Alastair
Machray missed out as he has only just arrived in the editor’s chair at
the Liverpool Echo. Keith Sutton, editorial director of Cumbrian
Newspapers, covered in glory after the Press Gazette Regional Press
Awards, also didn’t make the list because he is retiring later this
year.
North West Insider concluded, with typical northern
frankness: “In lists of the most powerful people in the UK media
industry, few regional figures get into the top 100.
Though this
can cause grumpy regionalists to moan about how London commentators
continually ignore life beyond the M25, the truth is that the power
very much does reside exactly there.
“Here’s
a novel way of upping classified ad revenue. Instead of letting
footie fans just abuse players from the terraces – get them to take out
ads in the local paper. The Jamie Burns offered for a bargain £10 in
this advertisement from the Blackpool Gazette plays for Blackpool FC.
Who put the sisters up to it?
Intriguing news reaches Dog’s ears about the eagerly awaited Tom Bower biography of Richard “£1m a week” Desmond, right.
Apparently the biog will look into the background of a lesbian demo
which got national headlines when Prince Phillip opened the Northern
& Shell offices. The book may well answer the question of who
encouraged the sisters to mount the demo.
Also, which newspaper
will serialise the book? If Associated were to take up an option, would
that re-ignite the feud between Desmond and Lord Rothermere, described
charmingly by the Northern & Shell boss in The Sunday Times at the
weekend as “a lucky sperm”?
Educating readers
Those sheltered readers of the Newark Advertiser who haven’t heard
of lap dancing are given a graphic description of the art in the intro
to this splash.
By Alyson Fixter
Dog is intrigued to hear about a campaign to be launched by the
Guild of Health Writers, demanding bigger bylines for its journalists.
According to the campaign’s founder: “What concerns me is the way
bylines are getting ever smaller, and are increasingly printed up the
side of the page right near the spine, so that unless you are looking
very carefully, you would miss them altogether.”
She goes on to
warn: “There are many culprits and the numbers are growing daily. I am
about to launch a campaign (along with some other members) for putting
back decent-sized bylines.”
Which begs that eternal question: just how big is a decent size?
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